US Teen Birth Rates Rise For The First Time Since '91

ATLANTA - In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about abstinence-only sex education.

The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new upward trend.

However, some experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blamed it on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.

Tango’s Take Hmm. The news media (it’s fair to include us in that designation) had to have been dying in liberal exultation at this further evidence of ‘failure’ by abstinence-only sexual education. “Look at what these intelligent-design yahoos are doing to our teens. Look at what they’re showing on their Fox-run television stations. And this is the first rise since ’91, the second to last year of the last Bush Administration. Coincidence? Blaaaaaaaah!” And of course the health-types are calling the 2006 resurgence of teen pregnancy a blip. These guys need to keep their jobs just long enough for the next administration to take over.

Weird how these results coincide with the CDC’s report that Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis are hitting all-time highs (see the Dish on that one). So, in summary, it is a good idea to tell teens not to have sex. That’s the best way to avoid getting burnt and pregnant. But it is probably a good idea to prepare them in case they fail to heed that advice. It would be ideal if you could teach kids how to tell by lookin’ at someone if they’ve got something or are incredibly fertile. If they figure that you, they should probably teach adults too. Forget it, it wouldn’t change anything.